So This is Love
by nyislandersgirl
Summary: Ash is back home, preparing to leave for his next journey. But when Misty's sisters leave her home alone for a week, Ash decides to keep her company. What could possibly go wrong? Pokeshipping and a little Contestshipping.
1. Chapter 1

On a sunny, late morning in Pallet Town, Ash Ketchum walked down the path to Professor Oak's laboratory. He was planning to leave on a new journey soon, but had decided that this time around, he'd like to stay home for a bit longer, and see all of his friends who still resided in the Kanto region. And today, he was going to visit Professor Oak and all of his Pokémon at the lab. He knew Tracey would be there as well, so it was a worthwhile trip. At fifteen, Ash was quite a bit different from when he had started his quest to become a Pokémon master. He was taller, and not as thin. There was actually some muscle on him now. The raven hair was longer, but still boyishly messy, with the one piece of hair that hung between his dark brown eyes. As always, Pikachu sat on Ash's left shoulder, the sunlight making the yellow mouse Pokémon's brown eyes glow and sparkle.

"So Pikachu, are you excited to see all our old buddies again?" Ash asked, turning his head to his partner Pokémon.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed. _Yes, of course!_

"You wanna race there?" the competitive glint that Ash possessed appeared in his eyes at the suggestion.

"Pika!" _You're on!_

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and began sprinting ahead.

"Hey! No fair!" Ash laughed, "You got a head start!" He began to run as fast as he possibly could, still laughing as his surroundings became a blur of assorted colors, all flying past him in the blink of an eye. Ash, of course, tried his hardest in everything he did, even if it was just a friendly race between him and his Pokémon. Not paying attention, Ash let his guard down and just ran freely along the path.

_**Thud.**_

Ash had smacked into something, hard. And now he was on the ground, moaning in pain. Then, he realized, he had smacked into a _person. _

"Ah!" Ash jumped up, horrified, "I…I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" and when he looked down, he became even more horrified.

He had smacked right into Misty.

Ash stood there, shocked to the core and unable to move. Misty lifted her head and shook it vigorously side to side, her fiery red ponytail flying back and forth, quick as a whip. She pulled herself up slowly, a low growl emanating from her throat. When she turned around to unleash her anger, her dark green eyes opened wide at the person she saw.

"Ash?" she asked, sounding absolutely stunned.

"Uh…hi Misty," Ash stammered a bit.

"What's the big idea?" Misty's tone became angry at this point, her eyes burning into Ash.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you knock me down like that?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Ash responded, aggravated, "why are you here anyway?"

"None of your business." Misty crossed her arms.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because I don't like your tone."

"What are you, my Mom?"

Misty rolled her eyes, turned around, and kept walking.

"Tell me where you're going," Ash ran up next to her. Misty said nothing.

"Okay, fine. _Please _tell me where you're going."

Misty's eyes flickered a bit, clearly because she knew she had won the battle. "Well, if you must know, I'm going to Professor Oak's laboratory."

"Hey, so am I!" Ash grinned, "Why are you going there?"

"I need to show Tracey something."

"What?"

Misty stopped walking and turned to Ash, a bewildered look on her face. "Full of questions today, aren't we?"

Ash laughed a bit and shrugged, "just curious."

Misty smiled a bit, "well, I guess I can show you first."

"Really?" Ash was now smiling. The fact that Misty seemed to be showing something important to Tracey, but was going to let Ash see first, made the boy feel rather…special.

"Sure, why not," Misty shrugged and pulled out a poke ball. She threw it up into the air, and it burst open, revealing a small, bright eyed Marill.

"Marill!" it greeted Pikachu, who had walked up to it.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu waved back.

"Hey, your Azurill evolved!" Ash beamed at the smiling red head.

"Uh huh, just yesterday, during a battle. I thought Tracey would like to see it newly evolved."

Marill used its tail to bounce up into Misty's arms. The girl smiled and continued to walk. Ash followed suit.

"So, did you win?" Ash asked.

"Win?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"The battle."

"Oh. No," Misty blushed, "I didn't. It was my second gym battle that day. I was tired, I guess."

"Did you win the first one?"

Misty stayed quiet for a few seconds before shaking her head, "no."

Ash's face became awash with a sympathetic look. He knew how much he hated losing, and Misty wasn't much different. She was very competitive too.

"To tell you the truth," Misty looked down, "I haven't been winning many gym battles at all lately. I don't know what's going on with me. I just can't seem to win. I feel like the badges are being handed out like candy."

"Well, they aren't really, cause you are battling," Ash tried to reason with her, "This isn't like where your sisters just gave badges away."

"No, of course. I would never do anything like that. It's just…I don't know. I haven't been in a very good mood lately, and it's affecting my battles."

_A bad mood? There's a shocker. _Ash thought to himself. That was the biting sort of comment that would have Misty smacking Ash over the head. But, not in the mood to start another argument, Ash kept his mouth shut. He wanted to help Misty, but he wasn't really sure how. He felt strange all of a sudden; his heart felt like it was beating weird. But when he looked forwards, he was able to shrug it off.

"Hey, there's the lab!" Ash grinned excitedly, "We're here!" Not wanting to wait any longer, Ash darted off, quickly as possible.

"Ash! Wait up!" Misty called, running after the boy. _He's still as crazy as ever, _Misty thought, _so why am I still crazy about him?_


	2. Chapter 2

Ash burst through the front door, nearly falling in the process.

"Ash!" Misty snapped behind him, "You shouldn't just burst into places like this!"

"It's me Mist, they won't mind."

The sound of Ash using the nick name that only he called her by made Misty shiver on the inside. She turned her face away so Ash couldn't see her blush.

"Professor! Tracey!" Ash called, walking further. Misty walked closely behind, practically using Ash as a shield. Ash stopped walking and turned his head around to look at Misty.

"What?" She asked with a trace of annoyance.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding behind you. If they kill us for sneaking in here, you're going first so I can get out of here."

Ash raised an eyebrow at this, "Really?"

"Ash? Is that you?" a familiar voice called out.

"Yeah!"

"We're upstairs!"

"Okay." As Ash began to walk again, Misty pushed him out of the way, trying to suppress her laughter. "What now?" Ash hissed.

Misty stood at the front of the stairs and stated simply, "ladies first," before rushing up the stairs. Ash rolled his eyes, vowing to get revenge on her later.

"Tracey!" Misty called, reaching the top of the stairs and running up to Professor Oak's assistant, "look! Azurill evolved into Marill yesterday!"

"Oh wow!" Tracey beamed as he looked at the round little Pokémon, "you look wonderful Marill!"

"Marill mar!" _Why thank you!_

Ash finally reached the top of the stairs and walked over to Tracey and Misty. "Hey Tracey," Ash greeted, pushing Misty out the way.

"Hi Ash," Tracey replied, blinking wildly at Ash's act, "long time no see."

"Eh, who needs him?" Misty asked, grabbing Ash by his shoulder and moving him away. Ash growled and tried to jump Misty from behind, but she moved out of the way, causing Ash to land face first on the ground.

"It's nice to see that you two have gotten reacquainted," Tracey nervously rubbed the back of his head.

Ash got up slowly, groaning again. He turned and glared at Misty before turning back to Tracey, "Hey Trace, I was wondering if I could go see all my Pokémon."

"No problem," Tracey nodded and began down the stairs, "follow me." Ash and Misty followed Tracey, who was eighteen but at this point not too much taller than Ash.

"So Ash," Tracey looked at the boy as they got downstairs, "are you heading off on a new journey?"

"Yeah, but not right away. I figured I'd spend some time around here first. I need to rest up a little bit."

"And by rest up, he means cleans out the refrigerator at his house," Misty added. Ash turned around to give a comeback, but for some reason, he couldn't give one. He got lost in her eyes, which, he noticed at that moment, looked like two emeralds placed in the sunlight. So instead, he just ended up staring at her. "Weirdo," Misty rolled her eyes, and shoved Ash on the shoulder.

The three friends finally reached the back door of the lab, which Tracey opened so they could all go outside. Misty walked in front of Ash, and he noticed her hair was glowing. It looked soft and so…clean? He couldn't really think of the right word, but it sure was pretty. As Tracey called for Ash's Pokémon, a soft buzzing noise pierced the air. Ash looked at Tracey and Tracey at Ash, but it wasn't coming from either of them. Then they saw Misty holding a phone in her hand.

"Sorry," she smiled sweetly, "its Daisy. I guess I should answer it." And with that, she walked away to talk to her sister.

Ash scoffed, and Tracey gave him a strange look.

"She's been a total pain since I met up with her," Ash crossed his arms, "or…ran into her."

"Misty's been a little…aggravated," Tracey sighed.

"Why though? What's she got to be aggravated about?"

"Her sisters have been driving her crazy…" Tracey began.

"That's nothing new," Ash interrupted.

"But it's been a lot worse lately. Of course they rely on her to run the gym, but they want to put on water shows. She doesn't want them to, because she needs to train, but they won't listen to her. And now their realizing that the people of Cerulean City love Misty much more than them, probably because she is the gym leader. So they want to include her in their water shows now, basically make her one of them. But she doesn't want it. I think the reason she's so upset is that at this point she doesn't really feel like she can trust anyone."

Ash just nodded. It all made sense now, why she was being so touchy. But…what kind of people in Cerulean City loved her? Guys? Ones that wanted to…date her? Ash felt his face heat up a little at the thought, for some reason. He shook his head like a crazy person, trying to make it stop. When he lifted his head, he saw all of his Pokémon stampeding towards him.

"Hey guys!" Ash grinned, waving to them. Before he knew it, Ash was trampled, on the ground and being swarmed by all his Pokémon, "hey guys, come on, get off," Ash laughed and tried to get up.

"UGH."

A loud, angry huff made Ash jump up to see what the matter was. It was Misty of course, arms crossed. She was glaring at the ground.

"What's up Misty?" Ash tilted his head a bit. He was trying to look innocent, in case Misty decided to take her frustration out on him.

"My sisters are leaving on some stupid trip for a week," Misty growled, "and their leaving me alone. Which I guess I should be grateful for."

Ash and Tracey looked at each other. Then, Ash suggested something he was probably going to regret.

"Hey Misty, I'll stay with you for the week."

"Don't force yourself," Misty shook her head, "I know you want to go out on a new adventure."

"No, really, I'm not forcing myself," Ash was trying to show Misty he was telling the truth, "I don't want you to be all alone. I can stay with you."

"Come on Misty," Tracey cut in, his tone warm and caring, "I think it's a good idea."

"Yeah," Ash smiled at the red head, "What could possibly go wrong?"


	3. Chapter 3: Monday

It was early in the morning, and Misty had just woken up.

_Relax, _Misty thought to herself, _just because Ash is here doesn't mean you should act any differently. Just do what you do every day. _

She got up and out of bed, and then went on to make the sheets and brush her hair and teeth. After this, Misty went downstairs to make herself breakfast. She walked as gently as possible past Daisy's room, where she had put Ash. Daisy had been bothering her the most lately, so Misty figured if Ash were to mess anything up, he could do it in Daisy's room. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, searching through the fridge to find something to make. As she looked, Ash walked down the stairs, but he did it quiet as possible, believing Misty was still asleep. Stepping into the kitchen, he saw Misty, but froze when he saw her. She was still in her pajamas; a white tank top with light green shorts. Her hair was down, the perfectly brushed strands of fire red hugging the sides of her shoulders. When Misty turned, and saw Ash, she shrieked and dropped a carton of orange juice on the floor, causing it to spill everywhere.

"Ash!" she yelled.

"What did I do?" Ash crossed his arms, "You're the one who dropped it."

"You snuck up on me!"

"I did not."

"Well you were just…standing there! Why didn't you say good morning or anything to at least let me know you were here?"

"Good morning," Ash smiled slyly.

Misty grabbed a paper towel and scowled, "Ash, you're a complete pain in the…"

"Here, let me help you," Ash interrupted, taking his own paper towel and getting on the floor to clean up the juice. As Misty knelt down to assist him, it was her turn to not help but stare. His raven hair was even messier than usual. _Bed head, _Misty thought to herself, giggling in her head. The white shirt he wore looked almost tight on him, due to the more muscular build that Misty had not seen before.

"All done," Ash rose just then, throwing out the drenched paper towel. For some reason Misty couldn't figure out, he had a very accomplished smile on his face. And it was gorgeous.

"Thanks," Misty herself couldn't help but to smile, and she followed suit in throwing out the wet paper towel. She and Ash just stood there then, unsure of what to say or do next. Misty looked at Ash's eyes, and saw them wandering downwards. To her…chest.

"Ash!" Misty smacked him on the top of his head.

"Ow!" Ash put both hands on the top of his head, "What!"

"Can you NOT stare at my chest?"

"I wasn't!"

"Yes you were!"

"You can't prove that."

"Yeah? Well I'm up here. So keep your head up." Misty turned and stormed away.

"Where are you going?" Ash asked.

"To change. Clearly, I'm underdressed."

"But Mist, I'm hungry."

Misty groaned, not even turning around, "Ash, you're not a five year old. You can make your own breakfast."

"You trust me?"

"No. Don't screw up my kitchen."

"But…" Ash started, but Misty was already up the stairs. Ash shrugged, opened the fridge, and to himself, stated "no promises."

Back in her room, Misty searched through her closet, feeling pressured to find something nicer to wear. Ash staring at her chest was certainly not the way Misty had planned, or wanted, to start her morning. _It's not even the fact that when you catch a guy looking there, it's incredibly awkward_, Misty thought, still looking over her clothes, _but Dawn has more up there than I do. It's so embarrassing…_

After finding the perfect outfit, Misty smiled weakly and placed it on her bed, changing as quickly as possible. Once she was all changed, and out of her room, Misty was surprised to find Pikachu walking sleepily out of Daisy's room.

"Hi Pikachu," Misty smiled, "I'm surprised you didn't come downstairs with Ash."

"Pika!" Pikachu squeaked happily and jumped onto Misty's shoulder. She scratched him behind the ears and walked back into the kitchen, to find Ash standing in front of a fridge that…had been full ten minutes ago.

"Ash," Misty growled, "did you eat _all of my food?"_

"_Your_ food?" Ash asked, "well since we're both here, isn't it _our _food?"

"Do you want me to smack you again?"

Pikachu jumped off Misty's shoulder and walked up to the fridge, looking in for something to eat.

"Pika pi," Pikachu fretted. _There's nothing there._

"Great," Misty rolled her eyes, "now I need to go out and buy more food."

As she began to walk towards the door, she felt Ash's eyes on her. Misty turned to see Ash staring at her top, a yellow blouse that was tight around the midsection with ruffles at the bottom, ruffled sleeves, and a red ribbon tied on the chest.

"Are you…"

"No!" Ash backed himself into the fridge, not wanting to get hit again, "I was only looking at your shirt. It's pretty."

"Ah, I'm too preoccupied to care," Misty sighed. As she opened the door, she turned back to Ash, "Why don't you get dressed, since you're done cleaning us out of food?"

"Sounds good to me," Ash nodded as he headed towards the stairs. Misty could only shake her head and walk out the door.

Ash walked back into Daisy's room, the walls painted a sea green. It was a bit frilly for Ash's liking, but he wasn't going to complain. He got dressed rather quickly, and then sat back down on the bed. _What to do while Misty's gone? _Ash thought to himself. That's when he got an idea. Walking out of Daisy's room and down the hallway, Ash looked to his right and to his left, as if Misty were about to jump out from nowhere. Once he was sure it was safe, Ash glided into Misty's room. The first thing he saw were walls painted light purple, which was actually a surprise to Ash. He had never suspected Misty of liking the color purple. In fact, her room wasn't that much less girly than Daisy's. _Now that's even weirder than the purple walls, _Ash scratched his head. He looked around at everything in Misty's room. He looked at her mirrored closet doors, her drawers, in which the tops were full of little figurines and picture frames. Ash looked at all the pictures. They were mostly of Misty and her family, her sisters and some people Ash had never seen before. But there were quite a few of him and Brock, and of May and Dawn too. This made Ash smile. But he was confused by one picture. It was of Misty and Tracey, just the two of them, looking quite happy and comfortable with one another taking care of Pokémon on Professor Oak's plantation. _Tracey and Misty? _Ash wondered in his head, _Nah, couldn't be._ He turned his head to the right and saw…a vanity. How much girlier was this going to get? Ash looked at the top of the vanity and saw quite a few pieces of jewelry, none of which he had ever seen Misty wearing. He laid his eyes on a silver chain with a silver heart locket on it. Smiling, Ash gently picked up the necklace.

"Pika chu?" Pikachu cried. _What are you doing?_

"Don't worry Pikachu," Ash scratched the Pokémon's head, "I'm not going to do anything to it." Clutching the necklace to his chest, Ash's eyes wandered to the drawers. _Should I? _He asked himself in his head. Using his free hand, Ash pulled the top drawer open, peeked inside, and then slammed it shut quickly, frightening Pikachu.

"Pi ka chu?" _What was that for?_

"Uh," Ash stammered, "there are...uh...bras in there." Still feeling curious, Ash opened the second drawer, although more cautiously this time, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was only shirts. Ash continued to open every drawer until he reached the bottom one, where he found, much to his delight, swimsuits. Just as he opened the drawer, however, Ash heard the door open downstairs. Terrified, Ash stumbled and ended up falling into the drawer. He hastily pulled himself up, and ran downstairs. Nearly crashing into the couch in the living room, Ash stood up straight and gave Misty a rather foolish looking smile. In return, Misty gave him a strange look. Seeing her arms full of groceries, Ash hurried forward and took them from her.

"Here, I'll help you." Ash showed Misty his glowing brown eyes.

"Thank you Ash," Misty smiled back warmly, her cheeks turning a bright pink. As Ash took the bags, however, the silver locket slipped out of his hand and onto the floor. Confused, Misty bent down and picked it up. "Ash," she asked, "why did you have my necklace?"

"Oh," Ash blushed, ran into the kitchen to put the bags down, and then ran back to Misty, "It's just…I thought it was pretty, and you never wear jewelry."

"So you want me to wear it?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Ash nodded as he gently took the locket from Misty's hand. Opening the back of it, Misty put her head down, and Ash put it around her neck, then closing the clasp. Misty lifted her head back up and held the heart between her fingers. She smiled at Ash, who smiled back. As he turned to go back into the kitchen and put the food away, Misty's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, Ash," she started. Ash turned around and smiled.

"Yeah Misty?"

She walked up to him and moved her hand towards his back, lowering it. A sense of alarm filled Ash, until he realized she was pulling something out of his pocket.

"Stay out of my drawers." In her hand? A green bikini top.


	4. Chapter 4: Tuesday

Hello! Well, for whatever reason, I can't remember how to edit my stories on here. Oh well! I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing, it's very much appreciated! I have a lot more of the story written and will be posting what I have slowly.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

_The most beautiful beach Ash had ever seen was set just before his eyes. The sand was so white; one could almost mistake it for snow. And the water was as blue as the sky. And because of that, the sky was even bluer, with not a single cloud in sight. Just the bright, yellow sun, shining down on the calm water. And on Ash. And, on Misty, who laid next to him, on a towel. In the green bikini._

"_Hey, Misty," Ash asked, his tone soft and almost shy._

_Misty sat up and Ash, fearing that Misty was punish him for waking her up, recoiled. But that wasn't the case._

"_Yeah?" she asked, her voice full of glee._

"_How did we get here?" Ash asked._

"_You brought us here, silly," Misty giggled, her hair glowing. And her eyes, they were so bright. The sun made them sparkle. _

"_Why?"_

"_Because it's so romantic." Misty moved forward and put her arms on Ash's shoulders. His eyes grew wide, his heart racing. He watched nervously as Misty closed her eyes and moved her head closer to his, tilting her head ever so slightly. What was she…oh. Ash realized it now. Misty was trying to kiss him. His heart began to beat even faster. Ash wasn't sure what to do. Giving into instinct, Ash closed his eyes and moved his head forward…_

"Get up!"

Ash flailed violently in bed before finally pulling himself up. The first thing he saw was Misty, fully dressed for the day, with a pillow in her hand.

"Did you just hit with me that?" Ash asked, partly stunned and partly furious.

"Yes," Misty nodded, "several times actually."

"Why?"

"Why? Because it's almost noon Ash."

"It is?" Ash jumped and ended up on the floor.

"Yes," Misty rolled her eyes, "now get dressed. We're going to have a visitor soon."

"A visitor?"

"Yes!"

"Who?"

"Just get dressed! You'll find out when he comes."

"Okay, well I can't get dressed if you're in here!" Ash picked up the pillow and flung it at Misty, who moved out of the way so that the pillow smacked the door.

"I'm leaving, relax," Misty laughed as she left the room, "like I need to see _you _naked."

Ash blushed furiously and slammed the door. Yet there his heart went, racing again as he thought back to the dream he had been having.

_Why would I dream about that? _Ash thought to himself, picking out a shirt and pants. Within five minutes, he was downstairs, where he found Misty sitting on the couch watching TV. Ash grinned deviously to himself. _Now's my chance to get revenge on her for what happened at Oak's laboratory. _Sneaking up quietly behind her, Ash put out his right hand, ready to yank Misty's fiery red ponytail. Just as he was about to grab it, the doorbell rang, causing Ash to yelp and jump. Misty bounced up, giving Ash her little "I win" look. She walked over to the front door, opening it with a smile on her face.

"Hi Brock," Misty greeted in her sweetest tone.

"Brock?" Ash ran up next to Misty, grabbing her shoulders to stop himself from falling. Misty looked down at his hand, and Ash quickly took them off. He looked up and did, in fact, see Brock standing in front of him.

"Wow Ash, I'm surprised Misty hasn't killed you already," Brock laughed.

"Nice to see you too Brock," Ash responded flatly.

"Here Brock, come inside," Misty took his hand and pulled him in. Ash knit his eyebrows, feeling a pang of jealousy. He shook his head. No way they had feelings for each other. Brock was quite a bit older, and Misty certainly wasn't his type. _Why am I even thinking about this? _Ash yelled at himself in his head.

"So Brock, what've you been up to?" Ash asked, walking up to his good friend.

"I've been teaching Forrest how to run the gym," Brock responded, "since he's old enough to take it over now."

"That's great!" Ash smiled.

"Yeah," Misty agreed, "speaking of gyms, I think we should head over to mine now, in case someone comes for a battle."

Misty's house was down the street from the gym, so it wasn't a long walk by any stretch of the imagination. As soon as they reached the front of the gym, there was already someone waiting to battle Misty, so Ash and Brock decided they would watch. As they sat in the bleachers, Ash stared intently at Misty, in her yellow blouse and knee length denim shorts, with her fiery red ponytail and emerald green eyes. Suddenly, his heart felt funny again.

"Brock," Ash nearly whispered, "I think I'm dying."

"Huh?" Brock raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"I really think I am. My heart keeps beating really fast, and I've been feeling…weird. I can't really explain it. 

Brock nodded, "When did all this begin?"

"Two days ago," Ash responded after thinking for a few seconds, "and it hasn't stopped since."

Brock kept on nodding. He looked at Ash, who had turned his attention back to Misty. Brock then looked at the red headed girl, and back to Ash. Looking at the boy's dark brown eyes…they were sparkling. And Brock started to laugh.

"Brock, why are you laughing?" Ash asked in an alarmed tone, "I'm dying, and you're laughing?"

"Ash, you're not dying," Brock kept laughing.

"I'm not?"

"No, of course not."

"Oh," Ash furrowed his eyebrows, "then what's wrong with me?"

Brock's laughter lightened up a bit, "You're in love."

"_What!" _Ash yelled, completely shocked. Misty looked up at him and raised an eyebrow before returning to her battle.

"Yep," Brock smiled, "I can tell."

"No way. I'm not in _love,_" Ash growled the word, "that's…just gross! Who am I even in _love _with?"

"Really Ash?"

"Yes. Really."

"You're in love with Misty," Brock sighed.

"With _Misty? _Seriously?" Ash crossed his arms, "You think that _I'm _in love with _Misty?_"

"I don't think. I know."

Ash looked at Misty again. He was practically studying her. Then he gasped, "Oh man."

"What is it?" Brock asked.

"I…I…had a dream last night," Ash stammered, "and she was in it. With me. Just…me and her. On a beach. About to…kiss."

"That's love alright," Brock began nodding again, "you're even seeing it subconsciously."

Ash's heart went back to its current habit of racing. Was Brock really right? Was he in _love _with Misty? She _was_…beautiful. Stunning really. All the teasing that had been going on the past two days, Ash realized he had been forcing. He didn't want to argue with Misty. He wanted to hold her hand, and hug her, and a part of him even wanted to kiss her. He just wanted to be with her. So that was love? Ash wasn't sure he quite liked it. That's when Ash realized he had missed the whole battle. He looked down at Misty, giving the young trainer a badge. She had lost. Again.

Later that night, Misty lay outside her house, looking up at the dark, star filled sky. She was rather miserable after losing the battle several hours before. This loss, however, hurt more than any other loss Misty had ever suffered.

_Ash was watching me, _Misty thought to herself, _and he saw me lose. I'm so ashamed…_

Misty closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She tried to figure out what she had done wrong; why she couldn't seem to win lately. As she lay there, deep in thought, Misty heard the soft sound of footsteps on the grass. She moved her head back, just enough to see Ash standing over her.

"Hi," he said warmly, a hesitant smile appearing on his face.

"Hi," Misty smiled back, hers weak and reluctant. She sat up and brought her knees to her chest. Ash sat down next to Misty and crossed his legs.

"You battled well today," Ash tried.

Misty raised an eyebrow, "what battle were you watching?"

"Yours," Ash smirked, "and it really wasn't bad. In fact, I know what your problem is."

"Oh do you?"

"Yep," Ash moved a little closer to Misty. Nervously, he took his hand and put it on top of Misty's. He could feel her shiver oh so slightly at his touch, "you're lacking a lot of confidence."

"Confidence?" Misty repeated. It wasn't in an angry or sarcastic way. She, in fact, sounded intrigued by Ash's conclusion.

Ash nodded his head, "your technique is fine, you think before you attack. But you can't win if you don't believe in yourself."

"How do I believe in myself?" Misty shook her head, "Lately, I've just been so out of it…I don't know what to do anymore."

"Tomorrow," Ash began, determination in his voice, "you're going to battle me."

Misty stared at him, her dark green eyes full of surprise, "But Ash…"

"Nuh uh, you can't say no," Ash crossed his arms and teased playfully, "we're battling, and that's that."

Misty laughed very lightly, "Alright, alright. We're battling." And with that, she lay back down, putting her hands underneath her head. Not wanting to leave Misty's side, Ash lay down as well, a gentle breeze moving his raven hair across his eyes. He sat up and shook his head furiously to move the hair away, and Misty giggled at the sight. Ash looked down at her with a smirk, and then he started to giggle as well.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Misty asked once the giggling died down. Ash looked at Misty rather blankly. "It's kind of random, I know," Misty toyed with the ribbon on her blouse, "but I'm just curious."

"Not too much," Ash shrugged, "I just really know I want to be a Pokémon master. Why, do you think about it?"

"Sometimes," Misty broke out into a soft smile, "I guess I'm pretty happy being the gym leader, even if I don't act like I am sometimes. So I'll be the gym leader, and I'll get married and have a family."

"Me too, I think," Ash agreed.

The two became silent, and simply continued to stare up at the sky. What they were both thinking, but wouldn't dare say, was that they wanted their futures to be with each other.


	5. Chapter 5: Wednesday

**Hello everyone! I decided to put up at least one another chapter before the end of the weekend, because this chapter is a little juicer ;) **

**Again, thank you so much for all the reviews! I've read them all, and they're very much appreciated! So, here's a new chapter for you all! Enjoy!**

Standing at the battle field inside of the Cerulean City gym, Misty faced Ash, both of them looking determined.

"Alright Marill, let's go!" Misty turned to the aqua mouse Pokémon.

"Marill mair!" Marill squeaked and jumped onto the platform that floated atop the water.

"Marill huh?" Ash wondered aloud, "well Pikachu, you're the only Pokémon I've got with me, so you're up!"

"Pi, pikapi…" Pikachu frowned and shook his head. He _hated _battling Misty.

"Pikachu," Ash frowned, "you _have _to! You're my only Pokémon!"

Pikachu folded his little arms and stuck his nose up in the air. He wouldn't budge. Ash sighed. He knew what he was going to have to do.

"Alright buddy," Ash gave his partner Pokémon a smile, "if you get into this battle, and try your very best, I'll give you a nice big bottle of ketchup later! How does _that _sound?"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped onto the opposite platform, electricity sparking from its cheeks.

"Alright Mist, this will be a one on one battle," Ash instructed, "Whoever's Pokémon is left standing at the end wins. You can attack first."

Misty blushed for a split second at Ash's chivalry, but soon enough returned to a look of determination, "Alright Marill, use water gun!"

"Mair…" Marill leaned forward and unleashed a strong jet of water from its mouth.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped up into the air.

"Now use thunderbolt!"

"Pika…" Pikachu became surrounded by bright yellow light, which he sent barreling towards Marill.

"Marill, jump into the water!" Misty called. Marill leaped off the platform and splashed into the water. Pikachu's thunderbolt hit the platform, but it was useless when Marill wasn't there. Pikachu landed back on his platform, ears twitching.

"Pikachu, try and listen to where Marill is heading."

"Chu," Pikachu's ears twitched more furiously, but it would be too late. Marill burst out of the water, and up into the air above Pikachu.

"Use tail whip!" Misty yelled. Marill began falling down towards Pikachu. As it did, it turned around mid air and smacked Pikachu with its tail.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it flew into the water.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out in concern. Several seconds later, Pikachu jumped out of the water and back onto the platform, shaking itself out.

"Alright," Ash smiled confidently, "Pikachu, use iron tail!" Pikachu jumped over from his platform to Marill's. Tail glowing a bright white, Pikachu spun in the air and hit Marill in the face using his tail. Marill was sent skidding backwards, but it did not fall off the platform.

"Good job Marill! Let's try your bubble beam attack!" Before Pikachu could even get off Marill's platform, the small blue Pokémon fired off a stream of bubbles only inches away from Pikachu. Once again, Pikachu was sent flying into the water, only this time with more force.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out again. And several seconds later, just as before, Pikachu came back up, but this time, floating.

"Well, what do you know," Ash was actually beaming, "you won Misty!"

"I…won?" Misty asked, bewildered.

"Yep. Good job!"

"I haven't heard those words in a while," Misty laughed.

"What, good job?"

"No. Well, that too I suppose, but hearing that I won."

"Well, you did it," Ash picked up Pikachu as the electric mouse pulled itself out of the water. The raven haired boy walked over to Misty, his eyes shining with pride.

"Thank you," Misty began blushing, something that had been happening quite a bit the past few days. Luckily, Marill jumped up into her arms at that moment, so Misty hid her red face behind the aqua mouse Pokémon.

"Marill, you did such a good job!" Misty hugged and congratulated her Pokémon.

Ash beamed as he watched Misty and Marill embrace and laugh. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something. So, Ash said something he never thought he'd say in his entire life.

"Hey Misty, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to…go out tonight."

"Out?" Misty asked, raising her head. _Like a date? _She thought to herself, wanting to ask. But she didn't dare let it get past her lips.

"Yeah. To dinner," Ash was looking down at the floor, "to…thank you for letting me stay here with you." _Why don't I just say a date? _Ash growled at himself in his head.

"I would love that," Misty smiled, at first weakly, but it became stronger the more she thought of it.

"Alright," Ash smiled back, "we'll go at six. So you can, uh, have time to…get ready."

Misty began to laugh, "Stop acting so weird."

"I am _not _acting weird," Ash started to sound defensive.

"Alright, alright, relax," Misty rolled her eyes with a smirk, "I'll get ready."

**(PAGE BREAK)**

Shortly before six, Ash stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Misty. Pikachu sat on the end of the banister, looking at Ash somewhat confusedly.

"Pika pi pikachu?" Pikachu asked. _Why are you so nervous?_

"I'm not nervous," Ash shook his head, yanking at his raven black hair. He had tried to tame it a bit, but it still had its boyishly messy appeal.

"Pikapi pi chu." _Whatever you say._

"It's taking her forever," Ash whined to himself. The boy was not blessed with a good amount of patience. As he rocked back and forth, Ash heard a soft, creaking noise. Looking up, his eyes grew wide.

Misty was standing at the top of the stairs, her fiery red hair tied at the back of her head. She wore some make up, but not too much. Her dress was, of course, emerald colored, and strapless with a short, poofy skirt. It was such an unusually girly look for Misty. And Ash was doing the same double take he had when she wore the pink kimono.

"Is this too much?" Misty asked timidly, tugging at the skirt a little.

"No," Ash breathed, "it's perfect." He wanted to kick himself for that. But Misty smiled at the comment and walked down the stairs to him.

"Pika," Pikachu awed at Misty.

"Why thank you Pikachu," Misty giggled.

"Alright buddy, you and Marill stay here and watch the house, kay?" Ash looked at Pikachu.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu twitched his ears. _No problem!_

"Marill mair!" Marill walked in from the kitchen. _We'll be fine!_

"Thanks you two," Misty smiled. She walked over to the door, and Ash noticed that she looked unsteady in the silver heels she wore. Once outside, she fished the house key out of her silver clutch and locked the door.

"Oh, I'm so dumb," Misty smacked her head, and Ash gave her a confused look. Misty laughed nervously and replied, "You look very nice too. I've never really seen you dress up like this."

"Oh," Ash blushed a deep red, "thanks."

"Shall we go?" Misty asked sweetly.

"Yes!" Ash responded heartily, "I'm _starving!_"

The dinner went very well, with the exception of a few moments where Misty had to scold Ash for talking with his mouth full. As they left the restaurant, Ash felt like being spontaneous, and shyly offered Misty his arm. She gave him a playful look, to which Ash laughed.

"Come on," Ash tilted his head sheepishly.

"Oh, alright," Misty giggled, hooking arms with him, "you're such a gentleman."

"I try," Ash teased.

Misty looked at Ash out of the corner of her eye. He looked _so _nervous. She stifled a giggle. Once they got back to the house, the two unhooked their arms, and turned to face each other. They both smiled weakly.

_Should I kiss her? _Ash thought to himself.

_Is he gonna kiss me? _Misty thought to herself.

Ash leaned forward, and excitedly, so did Misty. She patiently waited, but never felt Ash's lips on hers. Instead, he had wrapped his arms around her, and was giving a friendly hug. Misty's heart dropped, but she hugged him back with one arm.

After Ash had pulled away, Misty smirked, "thank you for dinner."

"Don't mention it," Ash shrugged, "it's the least I could do in return for you letting me stay here."

Misty nodded and opened the door. With her back to Ash, she shut her eyes and squeezed them tightly. Ash, meanwhile, was infuriated with himself.

_Why didn't I kiss her? _He thought miserably.


	6. Chapter 6: Thursday

**I'm back with another chapter! I actually have the whole story done; I'm just adding chapters as I can. I finally have a free night (curse you school! *shakes fist*) so I figured I'd update. Get ready for the drama!**

Ash lay awake in bed early the next morning, staring at the ceiling. He was still miserable over his mistake the night before.

"Idiot," Ash mumbled to himself.

"Pika?" Pikachu picked up his head.

"Not you Pikachu," Ash giggled, "I'd never say that about you."

"Pikapi, pi?" Pikachu's ears twitched.

"Yeah, _I'm _the idiot," Ash nodded.

"Chu?"

"Why? Well, you see…"

The doorbell rang. Pikachu looked back towards the bedroom door, and then back to Ash.

"I'm sure Misty will get it," Ash closed his eyes.

The bell kept ringing.

"Misty!" Ash yelled without opening his eyes. Nothing.

"Pikapi," Pikachu jumped off the bed and ran downstairs.

"Alright, I'll get it then," Ash huffed, sitting up. He climbed out of bed and walked downstairs, where he found Pikachu standing diligently in front of the door.

"Pikapi, pikachu pi."

"What? Oh yeah, I should probably check first, make sure it's not Team Rocket or anything."

Ash peeked through the peep hole, and saw none other than May standing on the front porch.

"May?" Ash pulled away, "what's she doing here?"

Still confused, Ash turned the door knob and pulled the door back.

"Hi Ash!" May's sapphire eyes were glowing.

"Hey May! It's good to see you. What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk to Misty about something," May stated cautiously. Looking down, she saw Pikachu, the happy electric mouse Pokémon smiling boldly.

"Pika!"

"Hi Pikachu!" May giggled as the Pokémon jumped into her arms and rubbed against her cheek, "so Ash, where _is _Misty?"

"Uh, that's a good question…"

"What? You're staying in her house, and you don't know where she is?"

"Do too!"

"You just said you don't."

Ash nervously rubbed the back of his head, "haha, well…I _usually _know. To be honest, I just woke up a little while ago, so I haven't seen her this morning."

"Maybe she went out," May thought, "Let's check for a note or something. May I come in?"

"Of course!" Ash moved to the side, grinning. May walked inside before turning to Ash.

"Let's check in the kitchen first."

Ash led the teenaged brunette into the kitchen, and the two began to search for some sign of Misty's whereabouts.

"Pikapi! Pika!"

"I think Pikachu might've found something," May jumped up from the floor, where she'd been looking on the lower cabinets.

As May guessed, Pikachu was standing on the counter, next to the refrigerator. A piece of light blue paper was taped onto the fridge, neat handwriting scribbled on it. Ash took the paper off the fridge and began to scan it over.

"Well, what does it say?" May folded her arms, "don't keep it all to yourself Ash Ketchum!"

Ash sighed and read the note out loud, just as it was written:

_Ash-_

_A challenger has just arrived at the gym, so I have a battle to take care of. You're still asleep, so by the time you actually wake up, I'll still be in the battle. We have plenty of food here for you to make yourself breakfast. Just don't eat it all again. I'll be back later. Watch the house!_

_Misty_

"Hm, that _would _make sense," May tapped her chin, "oh well. I could always come back later."

"You can stay here!" Ash put the note down on the counter.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Misty said I was in charge, didn't she?"

"Well, she didn't exactly use those words…"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine. I can make you breakfast too!"

May snorted and sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's so funny?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"We all know you can't cook Ash."

"Fine. But I can put milk and cereal in a bowl like a pro! What do you say?"

"That sounds perfect," May giggled.

"Cool," Ash smiled. As he gathered everything he needed, he asked May, "So have you been training?"

"Of course," May replied, "I've gotta keep improving so I can continue pounding Drew into the dust!"

"You two are such fierce rivals," Ash laughed, "do you _ever _get along?"

"Well yeah. We may be really competitive with each other, but we're also very close."

Ash nodded and gave May her cereal.

"Thanks, I'm starving!" May grinned appreciatively, "now, what about you? Have _you_ been training?"

"You know me!" Ash puffed out his chest, "I'm always training! Although, I haven't done much since staying here…although I did battle Misty yesterday!"

"Did you win?" May asked with her mouth full. She was usually very lady like, and girly, but when it came to eating, she was just like Ash.

"No," Ash sat down with his own cereal, "but I'm glad Misty won. She was really down. She hadn't won a battle in awhile, and she was so psyched when she beat me."

"You didn't lose purposely, did you?" May gasped.

"No way! I'd never lose on purpose to anyone, not even Misty. She won fair and square. Guess this lack of training has already got me out of shape."

"Well, let's fix that," May grinned as she put her spoon down.

Ash gave May a quizzical look, and asked, now with _his _mouth full, "What do you mean?"

"Let's have a battle," May rolled her eyes playfully.

"Okay!" Ash agreed.

"Great, let's go!" May jumped up.

"Just let me finish my cereal first," Ash put more food into his mouth. May groaned and threw herself back into her chair.

**(PAGE BREAK)**

After Ash had finished his breakfast, the two friends headed into the backyard and stood far apart from one another, preparing for battle.

"Okay Pikachu, let's go!" Ash called.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped forward, cheeks sparking.

"Figures," May giggled.

"Hey! Pikachu is the only Pokémon I have with me, for your information," Ash shot back with a smug look.

May sighed tiredly before tossing a poke ball, "Blaziken, on stage!"

"Blaziken!" The blaze Pokémon appeared before May, its red feathers looking bright in the morning daylight.

"Blaziken, huh?" Ash smirked, "alright then, no problem. Pikachu, use iron tail!"

"Pika…" Pikachu ran forward and jumped up, his tail glowing a fierce white as he closed in on Blaziken.

"Blaziken, dodge it!" May commanded. It dashed forward, and Pikachu landed on all fours on the ground.

"Awesome Blaziken!" May cheered, "Now, let's try fire spin!"

Blaziken turned around and unleashed a swirling stream of fire towards Pikachu.

"Now you dodge it Pikachu!" Ash yelled.

The yellow mouse Pokémon danced around the flames, causing Ash to grin with satisfaction, and May to groan with frustration.

"Nice try May, but it won't be good enough," Ash winked, "Pikachu, use quick attack!"

"Pi pi pi pi…" Pikachu raced forward in a flash, heading straight for Blaziken.

"I don't think so!" May furrowed her brow, "Blaziken, grab Pikachu and toss him!"

Blaziken jumped up and landed on Pikachu, ramming the electric Pokémon into the ground. Pikachu squeaked in pain as Blaziken used its elbow to push him further into the ground. The blaze Pokémon jumped back up, grabbing the weakened mouse and spinning around in circles before tossing him.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

Pikachu continued to cry out his name as his small body sailed through the air. Ash took off after his little buddy, who was heading straight for May. Before he knew it, Ash had Pikachu in his arms, but he had also collided with May, knocking the young brunette to the ground.

Ash turned his head, finding himself face to face with May. He was staring directly into her sapphire eyes. Their faces couldn't be any more than a few inches apart.

The two friends simply laid there for a few moments in sheer shock. Once they finally snapped back to their senses, May gasped and pushed Ash off of her.

"Sorry May, I didn't mean to land on you like that," Ash frowned, "I just had to get Pikachu…"

"It's okay, it's fine," May shook her head, but she was blushing furiously. _How embarrassing! _She thought miserably, _thank goodness no one saw that._

Or so she thought.

Just a few yards away, stood Misty, who had watched the whole scene with horrified emerald eyes and a now broken heart.


	7. Chapter 7: Friday

**Another new chapter before the end of the weekend! Thank you all for the continued reviews. Now, onto the next chapter!**

For the rest of the day before, Misty had successfully avoided Ash by pretending she had been flooded with gym battles. In truth, she had hidden away in the gym, crying as her Pokémon made desperate attempts to cheer up their trainer.

_Why am I even upset? _Misty thought sadly to herself as she looked up at her bedroom ceiling, _he was never _technically _mine. But…I wanted him so badly…how did May get to him first?_

She closed her eyes tight, digging her nails into the palms of her hands. She couldn't believe this was happening. Misty had lost her first, and biggest, crush, to one of her best girl friends no less. It was the worst pain imaginable.

Ash, meanwhile, had the slightest feeling that Misty was avoiding him. He had gone to say goodnight to her the night before, and she said nothing back. She had clearly been awake, because Ash could see her emerald eyes sparkling in the moonlight. But if she _was _ignoring him, why?

May had decided to stay at Cerulean City's Pokémon center for the night, deciding she would tell Misty what she wanted to tell her the next day.

After a while, Misty forced herself out of bed. Still feeling the effects of what she had witnessed the day before, she groggily put her hair up in a messy ponytail, and dressed very slowly. Trudging down the stairs, Misty feared seeing Ash and simply bursting into tears at the sight of the raven haired teenager. Luckily, he was nowhere to be found, still laying lazily in Daisy's bed.

As the red head went to sit on the couch and bury her head in her hands, the door bell rang. Misty groaned. The last thing she needed now was a visitor. Maybe she could just ignore the bell. It rang again. Misty folded her arms. Another ring.

Now growling, Misty got up and swung open the door. Looking up, her heart took another jerk.

It was May.

"Hi Misty!" May trilled, "I was hoping you'd be up!"

Misty coughed, trying to untighten her throat. May gave her a strange look.

"Hi May," Misty was finally able to choke out, putting on her best fake smile.

"I have to tell you the best thing ever!" May was jumping up and down, "you're going to be _so _excited! May I come in?"

"Sure," Misty answered reluctantly. May gave another smile and skipped inside.

_Great, _Misty thought begrudgingly as she slammed the front door, _now I'm gonna have to hear her gush about how Ash is her boyfriend. The best boyfriend ever._

Misty turned to look at May, who was toying with her brunette hair.

"So, what's up?" Misty mumbled.

"Okay," May let go of her hair, "so, I don't know if you're ever going to believe this, but…I have a boyfriend!"

"Oh really?" Misty could feel tears stinging the back of her eyes.

"Yes!" May had her hands clasped together, "and he's actually _really _sweet! He even made the first move. I mean, he still has his giant egotistical moments at times, but that's nothing a little smack over the head doesn't fix!"

Misty nodded, putting her head down to rub her eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay Misty?" May inquired.

"Fine, I'm fine. Just tired still."

"Oh, okay. Well, anyway…"

"May, you're back!"

May and Misty both looked up at the staircase. Ash stood in the middle, his hatless appearance showing off just how unruly his jet black hair really was. He was smiling down at May, and Misty resisted the strong urge to run up the stairs and kick the boy in the shin.

"Well, look who decided to wake up," May teased.

"Haha, very funny," Ash walked down the stairs and stood in between the two girls. He gave May a look, "so, did you tell Misty what it is you wanted to tell her?"

May opened her mouth to answer, but Misty interrupted.

"Oh, she told me alright," Misty's voice was angry, "I just don't understand why _you _didn't tell me earlier!" She was glaring at Ash, who was now blinking wildly.

"Misty, what are you talking about?" Ash leaned into the girl.

"How could you lead me on like that?" Misty shouted, handing balling into fists, "I mean, you took me out to dinner, and, stupid me, I even thought you were going to _kiss _me when we got home! But of course you didn't. You're not _that _much of a womanizer, right? You're just enough of one to lead on other girls, but not enough to fully cheat on your girlfriend, right?"

"_Girlfriend?_" Ash's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, so now you're playing dumb? Ash, come on. I don't _care _that you and May are dating! I really don't! I hope you two are _very _happy together. But the fact that you _lied _to me? You had to wait for May to tell me this?" Misty began to walk away, "I thought you were a good friend Ash. Who am I kidding? I thought you were my _best _friend. But anyone who has the nerve to lie to their best friend isn't really a friend at all."

Misty turned around fully and stormed away.

"Misty!" Ash called, running after the red head. Misty spun back around, her eyes wide with anger and wet with tears.

"Can't you just leave me alone Ash?" Misty whimpered, "You've done enough damage to me. You'd better treat May better than you treated me. She doesn't deserve this."

"Misty, you've got it all wrong," Ash shook his head furiously; "I don't know _where _you're getting this from."

"Ash," Misty whispered, "just leave. Me. Alone."

And with that, she now sprinted away from her former best friend, tears running down her cheeks.

Ash turned back to May, eyes full of confusion.

"What just happened?" Ash cried.

"I think…" May breathed, "I think Misty thinks that you and I are dating."

"Well, we're _not!"_ Ash was gaping, "what would give her that idea? What did you tell her? You didn't even tell _me!_"

"Because you're a _guy_," May rolled her eyes, "you wouldn't care. In fact, you'd probably tease me. But I think I have to tell you now, because I've created a _huge _mess."

"Ya think?" Ash snapped. May raised a shaking fist. "Okay, okay, just tell me!" Ash sighed.

"I was telling her that I have a boyfriend."

"You have a _boyfriend?_" Ash straightened himself, "_who?_"

May turned bright red and inaudibly mumbled the boy's name.

"May! WHO?"

"DREW!" May screamed. Her hands involuntarily flew up to her mouth.

"Drew?" Ash gasped. May nodded shyly, still covering her mouth. "Wow," Ash rubbed the back of his neck, "didn't see that one coming."

May rolled her eyes, "yeah, fantastic. Except for the fact that Misty now thinks that _you're _my boyfriend."

"Well, did you ever actually mention Drew's name in your little gush fest?"

"Uh…" May was blushing again, "no."

"So this is all _your _fault!" Ash threw his hands up.

"It is not!" May cried, "I don't know where Misty could even get the_ idea_ that you and I were together."

"Well, we've got to find out," Ash sighed, "she absolutely hates me now. So it's up to you."

"ME?" May yanked her brunette hair, "oh, why me?"

"I just told you, Misty hates me. There's no way she'll tell me anything. So, go find out where she got this crazy idea from, and tell her she's wrong."

"Okay, fine," May grumbled, walking past Ash.

"I don't understand why this would even bother her though," Ash thought aloud.

"What was that?" May stopped in her tracks.

"I mean, I don't get why Misty would care if you and I _were _dating."

"Ash," May turned around and smirked at Ash, "are you really that dense?"

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Ash," May sighed, "Misty _likes _you."

"I know she does," Ash nodded, "well, _did. _You heard her, we're not friends anymore."

"No Ash. She _really _likes you."

Ash's head snapped up, "she…she does?"

"Yes!" May folded her arms, "you've never noticed before? I noticed. Dawn noticed. Brock noticed. I mean, come on, _Max _noticed!"

"So she _does _like me!" Ash grinned foolishly to himself, "ha! Oh, now I hate myself even _more _for not kissing her! Now she'll never speak to me again."

"You really almost kissed her?" May's eyes widened.

"Yeah, but I thought she would hit me. Or worse, tell me she didn't like me that way," Ash shrugged, "I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But I guess it's too late for that now anyway."

"No it's not," May grinned, "I'm going to fix this Ash. Don't you worry."

**XXX**

May walked quietly through the halls of the Cerulean City gym. Ash had told her this was where Misty had most likely run off to. She kept her hand brushing against the wall as she took soft steps, listening intently for some sign of Misty. As she walked forward, gentle sobs began to break through the silence.

_That's got to be Misty, _May thought miserably to herself.

Walking a little faster now, May finally reached the entrance that lead into the pool area of the gym. She peeked just past the side of the doorway, eyes searching through the spacious room. She finally caught sight of Misty next to the diving board, knees hugged to her chest with her head down. Marill stood to her right and brushed its trainer's side with its blue ball tail. It looked almost like she was sleeping, but May looked a little harder and saw the red head's body convulsing with sobs. Taking a deep breath, May took her hands off the wall and walked into the battle area.

"Misty?" May asked a little hesitantly.

Misty's head snapped up, her eyes widening at the sight of the brunette.

"May," Misty gasped a little, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run off like that. I…I'm not mad at you. It's all Ash's fault."

"Yeah," May bit her lip and walked closer to the gym leader. Misty looked up at May with her innocent, tear filled emerald eyes. May gave a weak smile and sat down in front of Misty.

"Misty, can I ask you something?" May hooked her index fingers together and looked down at them, almost afraid to look at Misty.

"I guess," Misty sniffed.

May reluctantly looked up, and asked as sweetly yet seriously as she could, "when did you, uh, figure out that…well, how…"

"You want to know how I knew you were going out with Ash?" Misty attempted. May nodded eagerly. "Well," Misty shrugged, "I saw the two of you together yesterday. Y'know, in the backyard, when…"

"When he was laying on top of me?" May gasped, horrified. Misty nodded, raising an eyebrow when May's entire face went red.

_So _that's _why she thinks Ash and I are together, _May groaned in her head, _that is so, so, _so _embarrassing! And…what if Drew finds out about this? _

May furrowed her brow. She was _definitely _going to have to fix this. But how? She couldn't just tell Misty she had it all wrong. Seeing Ash on top of her the day before _was_ a pretty convincing argument, even though it wasn't the truth. The fact was, Misty was deeply hurt, and as May knew very well from experience, deeply hurt girls were not the easiest ones to convince. She wished Drew was here. There wasn't much _he _could do to help, due to his oversized ego and the fact that he still thought he could hit on any girl he wanted. But at least he was comforting.

And with that, May got a brilliant idea.


	8. Chapter 8: Saturday

**I'm back with another chapter! Woo-hoo! So, what was May's plan? You'll find out this chapter! Well, some of it. What, you thought I was going to give it all away at once? ;)**

**Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!**

May looked underneath her bed at the Pokémon center, giggling uncontrollably. This plan was _perfect_. She figuredit was pretty much the only way she could get Misty to forgive Ash, weather the fiery red head wanted to or not.

"So, you understand the plan, right?" May asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped back. The electric mouse Pokémon was hiding underneath the bed with bright brown eyes. Originally, he was hesitant to agree to May's plan, because it could really hurt Ash. But the Pokémon figured that within a few hours, he'd be back on Ash's shoulder, and everything would be alright again.

"Awesome," May grinned, "so, you just stay here while I get your thick skulled trainer back on track with his barely there love life."

Pikachu nodded and jumped on top of May's bed.

"I do feel kind of bad leaving you here all alone though," May frowned, but soon smiled in triumph, "I have an idea!" She reached into her bag and grabbed a poke ball, "come on out Skitty!"

The cat Pokémon appeared next to Pikachu, meowing gleefully at the sight of its old friend.

"You two can keep each other company," May trilled, "just be sure to stay out of trouble!"

XXX

Ash was rifling through Misty's living room, his heart pounding with worry.

"Where is he?" Ash cried.

May walked through the front door, having been given permission by Misty to drop by anytime. As far as Ash was concerned, it had taken all of Misty's strength for her to not throw the boy out of her house. But she wasn't _that _cruel, even if he was.

"Hey Ash, what's going on?" May was proud of how clueless she could make her tone.

"I can't find Pikachu _anywhere!_" Ash jumped up, his face frantic. In a way, May began to feel bad for what she'd done. But she knew it was in the best interests of Ash and Misty. Besides, Pikachu was safe back at the Pokémon center.

"I'm sure he'll turn up," May shrugged, "maybe he wanted to go outside for a bit?"

"Pikachu never gets up before me," Ash frowned, "he never gets out of bed before I do! I woke up this morning and he was gone."

May nodded mindlessly; flashing back to how difficult it was to snatch the electric mouse from his trainer's bed. She had already informed Pikachu of her plan the day before, but it was hard to get Pikachu away from Ash when the teen was such an awful sleeper.

"Ash, relax," May hushed, "I'm sure he's fine."

"I'm not!" Ash threw himself down on the couch and pulled at his raven hair, "my buddy is missing; I don't know _where _he is! He's probably scared. I know he can protect himself, but…_I'm _scared."

May groaned inwardly. Okay, now she _really _felt bad. Maybe her plan wasn't so great after all. She opened her mouth to reveal to Ash what she'd done, but she was interrupted by Misty bounding down the stairs.

"All I'm hearing is _him _whining," Misty glared at Ash, but then looked curiously at May, "what's his problem?"

"Misty, have you seen Pikachu?" Ash jumped up, "I know you hate me, and you won't even let me explain, but I promise that I'll never bother you again if you can just tell me where Pikachu is."

"Pikachu's missing?" Misty gasped. Ash nodded sadly. Misty was pale now, "oh no. I…I don't know where he is."

"I have to say something!" May wailed. Ash and Misty turned to look at the sullen brunette. May took a deep breath, "You see, I…"

**BOOM.**

"What was that?" Misty jumped.

The three teens took off to the back door and ran into the backyard, looking up. Above their heads floated the very familiar Meowth balloon.

"Team Rocket!" Ash and Misty yelled in unison.

Wide eyed, May mumbled to herself, "This was _not _part of the plan!"

"Finally!" Jessie bellowed, "we've been looking everywhere for you twerp! Your house, the old man's laboratory, and where do we find you? The original twerpette's house! Since when did you become such a sneaky little twerp?"

"You guys have been stalking me?" Ash gaped.

"Haven't we been doing that for awhile now?" James curiously scratched his head.

"Who cares what we've been doin'!" Meowth piped up, "all dat matters is we've found da twerp!"

"Yes," Jessie was grinning, "and in honor of being back at our old stomping grounds, we thought we'd give you little twerps a special treat by reciting the _original _Team Rocket motto!"

"They're such idiots," Misty smacked her forehead.

"Ahem," Jessie threw up her arm valiantly, "to protect the world from devastation!"

James put his foot on the edge of the balloon's basket, "to unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To defend the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

Meowth jumped up onto the basket's rim and cheered, "Meowth, that's right!"

"Alright you clowns," Ash scowled, "what did you do with Pikachu?"

"Pikachu?" James raised an eyebrow, "we haven't done anything to that little mouse, not yet anyway."

"Why else would we be here?" Meowth yelped, "we came here to swipe Pikachu, a' course!"

"Wait, so you _don't _have Pikachu?" Ash folded his arms.

"No, of course not!" Jessie stamped her foot, "now, quit playing the fool and hand Pikachu over!"

"I don't have him!" Ash growled, "He's missing!"

"Missing?" Team Rocket yelled in unison.

"What are we gonna do?" Meowth groaned, "we can't walk away empty handed!"

"Oh yes you can," Misty tossed a poke ball, "Marill, use bubble beam!"

"Marill!" The water Pokémon unleashed a stream of bubbles right towards Team Rocket. But the trio thought quickly and moved the balloon out of the bubbles' path.

"No good," Misty sighed.

"If we can't catch Pikachu, we'll just have to take that little Marill as a consolation prize!" Jessie snapped.

"You got it Jess," James pressed a button. The bottom of the basket opened up to reveal a thick metal cord with a rubber hand attached to the bottom. It shot out towards the three trainers and snatched Marill, pulling the little Pokémon back up towards Team Rocket.

'Marill!" Misty cried, jumping up and grabbing onto the hand. She soared up with it, shrieking as she got pulled up.

"Misty!" Ash and May gasped.

"Hey look at 'dat, we caught a twerpette!" Meowth gaped.

"Shake her off!" Jessie stormed.

The metal cord shook furiously, but Misty wasn't going anywhere.

"Ugh, just forget it," Jessie growled, "She'll have to come along with us."

"But Jessie…" James tried.

"I said move it!"

The balloon hurried away, Misty still trying to free Marill from the hand.

"I'm coming Misty!" Ash ran after the balloon.

May wanted to follow, but her legs felt too heavy to move. Her perfect plan had absolutely backfired.

XXX

Back at the Pokémon center, Pikachu napped on a sun drenched spot of May's bed. Skitty, meanwhile, ran excitedly on the floor, back and forth in the same straight line, over and over again. After awhile, Skitty became bored, and decided to ram herself head first into the door. It swung open, and meowing happily, Skitty dashed out into the hallway.

Pikachu's ears twitched and he opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw the door wide open and Skitty missing.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried. He jumped off the bed and ran out the door, looking up and down the hallway for the jolly little Pokémon. A little meowing noise caught Pikachu's attention, causing the electric mouse to skip towards the front of the center. There, Pikachu found Skitty jumping up a trainer's leg.

"Pika!" Pikachu scolded, storming up next to Skitty.

"Pikachu?" The trainer questioned, "Where's that dopey master of yours?"

Pikachu looked up with a growl, but he stopped when he realized who it was.

Drew.

XXX

"Team Rocket, you put her down!" Ash yelled.

Misty looked down curiously, her legs still flailing. What was Ash trying to save her for?

"Would you get out of here twerp?" Jessie groaned, "You're ruining everything!"

"Not until you let Misty and Marill go!"

"Ash, don't do anything crazy!" Misty screamed. She turned her attention back to the rubber hand, prying at it with her fingers.

"Marill mair!" Marill cried.

"Don't you worry Marill," Misty smiled weakly, "I'll get you out of there, I promise!"

Misty continued to pull at the hand, until finally she was able to loosen it. Grinning triumphantly, she grabbed Marill, but slipped off the chord in the process, and began to freefall with Marill in her arms.

"Misty!" Ash cried. He took off, rushing to catch up to where Misty was falling. Misty screamed, holding Marill tightly in her arms. As Ash ran for the red head, the ground suddenly gave out below him, and he fell into a deep hole.

"Oh right, I forgot all about 'dat hole we dug!" Meowth trilled.

"Nice work Meowth!" James gave the feline Pokémon thumbs up.

"Now that twerp couldn't get away even if he tried," Jessie chirped.

Misty, meanwhile, was falling directly over where the hole was placed. She landed inside of it, right on top of Ash, who was groaning in pain on the ground. Misty moaned a little, but realizing she was on top of Ash, she gasped and jumped back up. Looking down, she saw the raven haired boy wincing in pain.

"Ash!" Misty knelt back down, "are you alright?"

Ash opened his mouth to speak, but instead simply nodded. Misty sighed. She was still infuriated with him. But, he was hurt. And it killed her to see him this way. She certainly wasn't going to just leave him like that. Wrapping her arms around Ash's waist, Misty pulled him up and sat him down against the hole's wall. Ash rubbed his head and opened his eyes, staring innocently at Misty.

"Misty…" Ash sighed.

"I'm still mad at you," Misty snapped, sitting down next to him in a huff. They sat in angry silence for a minute, before Misty added softly, "but I can't stand to see you hurt like that."

"I'm fine," Ash mumbled, looking down at his sneakers. His voice was dark, however.

"Ash," Misty turned to him, "I know you. You sound really upset, so you're _not _fine. It's Pikachu, isn't it?"

"I don't know where he is," Ash whimpered, eyes glistening with tears, "what if I never see him again? He's my best buddy. I don't know what I'd do without him."

A tear rolled down his cheek, and Misty shivered. Of course she had seen Ash cry before. He was a very emotional person, although sometimes it could get on her nerves, especially when he cried over such trivial things like a lack of lunch. But this was not a trivial thing. Pikachu was missing, and Misty couldn't even imagine how much pain Ash was in.

Or maybe she _could_.

Misty touched Ash's shoulder gently, and the boy looked up at her with a devastated look.

"I'll help you find him," Misty whispered, "because I know how much losing him would hurt you. But…maybe now, you'll understand how I feel."

Ash sniffed and raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?"

Misty looked down and furrowed her brow, "I mean when I saw you and May in my backyard. Flirting like that. And then I found out, from _May, _that you two were together. Especially after the way you had treated me the days before. You know, so nicely, almost like…"

"I liked you?" Ash finished. Misty nodded. Ash smiled weakly and moved Misty's face up.

"I feel like I've lost _you _Ash," She now had tears in _her _eyes, but she didn't look like she was about to cry. She just looked disappointed. Looking at Ash's sweet, crooked smile, Misty gave him an odd look. Without a word, Ash moved his head forward and pressed his lips against Misty's.

He was kissing her.

Misty was stunned. She was shaking, her eyes open. She stared at Ash. His eyes were shut, and his body looked rigid with fear. Misty closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment for just a second before pulling away and smacking Ash in the face.

"OW!" Ash wailed, grabbing his cheek, "what was _that _for?"

"You just _kissed me _you idiot!" Misty's face was bright red, "you have a _girlfriend! _**May! **She's your _girlfriend! _And you're kissing _me?_"

"Yeah, I was kissing you," Ash stated, "because May is _not _my girlfriend!"

"Ash, stop it. She was telling me _all _about how awesome of a boyfriend you were yesterday! You _heard _part of it for goodness' sake!"

"Misty, did you ever hear May say my name?"

Misty blinked.

"Well, did you?" Ash folded his arms.

"No…" Misty looked down.

"Exactly. Because I'm _not _her boyfriend. _Drew _is her boyfriend."

"They finally got together?" Misty raised her head, a bold smile plastered on her face. It disappeared quickly however, and she gave Ash another quizzical look, "but wait…I saw the two of you in the backyard. What was that then?"

"How much of it did you see?"

"I saw all I needed to see," Misty's tone became serious again; "you were lying on top of her Ash."

"So you _only _saw me on her?"

"Yes!"

"Then you didn't see the whole thing," Ash shook his head.

"Okay, so tell me what I missed."

Ash took a deep breath and began, "you see, May and I were having a battle because I told her I hadn't trained in a while, and I thought I was getting rusty. I used Pikachu, and she used Blaziken. So the battle was really awesome, like, it was going really well. Then Blaziken pinned down Pikachu; you had to see it, it was crazy. And then it spun around and tossed Pikachu in the air! Pikachu went flying and I just _had _to get him! So I went running after him, and I caught him; it was such a great catch too. But then after that I ran into May because I couldn't stop running and I knocked her down and I was on top of her and I guess _that's _when you walked over…"

He was panting, breathless from the long explanation he had just given. Misty sighed and gave Ash a little giggle.

"First of all, you really need to learn how to breathe and talk at the same time," Misty was smirking, "and second of all, I guess I believe you."

"You _guess?_" Ash raised an eyebrow, "come on Mist, I just gave you a long and winding explanation about what you saw! And you're not gonna believe me?"

"I didn't say I _wasn't _going to," Misty growled, "I said I _guess _I believe you. I'm still getting over the shock of all of this."

Ash nodded slowly. He looked back up at Misty and gave her a sly smile. Misty sighed, but then smiled back.

"Are you ready to get out of here and look for Pikachu?" Misty brushed some of Ash's hair out of his eyes.

"Yes please," Ash laughed, before becoming serious again, "I really need to find him."

Misty stood up with ease, but as Ash began to stand, he hissed and threw himself back down.

"Ash?" Misty kneeled back down, "what's wrong?"

"My ankle really hurts," Ash winced, "but I have to go look for Pikachu. A little pain won't stop me."

He jumped back up, but soon began to stumble. Misty grabbed the boy and leaned him on her shoulder.

"Ash, you're way too hurt to be going anywhere," Misty scolded.

"But I _need _to find Pikachu!" Ash snapped.

"I know how upset you are about this, but I can't let you put yourself in that much pain. Sit down, _I'll _go look for Pikachu."

Misty lowered Ash back onto the ground, and as she tried to climb out of the hole, Ash grabbed onto her ankle.

"Ash, let me go," Misty hissed, "I need to go find Pikachu for you."

"I don't want to be alone Misty," Ash whispered. Misty blinked and got back down next to Ash.

"But Ash…" Misty touched his head.

"I'm serious Mist. Stay here with me."

Misty nodded, running her hand from the top of Ash's head to the back of his neck. She looked deeply into his big brown eyes that were dulled with pain. Giving him a weak smile, Misty now leaned forward and kissed Ash. This time, Ash giggled a little, placing his arms around Misty's waist and pulling her closer. He kissed back, his heart pounding and his cheeks warming with a fierce blush.

The two were so busy kissing, that they hadn't noticed the newly arrived Drew and May, who held Pikachu in her arms, watching down on them from the top of the hole. Drew snickered, to which May gave him a gentle smack on the arm.

"Okay, so this_ totally_ wasn't how my plan was supposed to work out," May whispered giddily to Drew, "but I'm perfectly fine with it ending up this way."

**Only one chapter left! Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion! And keep reading and reviewing! I read every one, it's greatly appreciated! ^^**


	9. Chapter 9: Sunday

**Wow, last chapter! I hope you guys have enjoyed this story just as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I'm always writing new stories, so be sure to keep an eye out for them! Once again, thank you for all the reviews and comments! Now, enjoy the last chapter!**

Ash's eyes fluttered open, the bright sunlight shining through Daisy's sea green room. Ash gently turned his head to the left, where he saw Pikachu curled up on his pillow, still fast asleep. Ash couldn't help but to smile blissfully. He was so happy that his little buddy was safe and sound. Of course, he had been all along, since May had taken him. Ash had really wanted to go after May for that, and he would have, had Drew not jumped in front of his girlfriend. Falling down from the pain shooting through his ankle didn't help Ash either. He couldn't remember much after that. He had slept for the rest of the day. As Ash pressed his head back further into the pillow, he suddenly realized that there was something on his chest.

He lowered his gentle brown eyes and saw a light skinned, dainty hand resting on his chest. He moved his head, following up from the hand that was the end to a gently sloping arm. At the top of the arm was a gentle, almost weak looking shoulder that peaked out from underneath a sky blue tank top. And brushing the gentle shoulder from behind was a curtain of fiery red hair.

"Misty!" Ash became started, jumping a little. A sharp pain burst in his ankle, causing Ash to groan and press his folded arms against his chest, on top of Misty's hand.

"Ash!" Misty leapt up, trying to pull her hand out from under Ash's arms. She finally pried it out, and stared at him worriedly, "is it your ankle?"

"Well, that wasn't the _original _reason, but now it is," Ash glowered, but then gave Misty a somewhat softer look, "what are you doing in my bed?"

"You mean _Daisy's _bed," Misty corrected.

"Whatever," Ash grunted.

"I decided to stay with you last night," Misty looked down, before chuckling a little, "you were crying in your sleep."

Ash's face turned bright red, and he quickly turned away from Misty.

"I'm sorry Ashy," Misty sighed, running her fingers through his black hair, "I just felt so bad. You're obviously in a lot of pain, and I couldn't just leave you to suffer."

Ash gave another sigh of annoyance. Feeling bad, however, he turned back to Misty and gave a tired, "thank you."

"Don't mention it," Misty shrugged, "I'll go now, if you want."

"No!" Ash responded, all too quickly. Misty gave him a curious look, to which Ash gave a nervous little laugh, "sorry. Please don't go Misty."

The girl nodded and smiled, lying back down with her head on Ash's chest. Ash snorted playfully and patted Misty's head. After laying in silence for awhile, Misty piped up, "That's what parents do, you know."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "do what?"

"It's natural instinct for parents to wake up when they hear their kids crying. It's also instinct for them to go and see what's wrong."

"So what are you saying?" Ash questioned, "I'm your baby?"

"Maybe," Misty tilted her head into Ash's chest, "I mean, I _was _asleep. But I woke up, because I could hear you crying. And I tried to wake you up to find out what was wrong. No luck. You're a very deep sleeper when you want to be Ash Ketchum. But I kind of felt guilty. So…I decided to sleep next to you. That's what my Mom or Dad used to do when I was little, and I would have a nightmare in the middle of the night."

"Thank you," Ash smiled again, closing his eyes. More silence. And once again, Misty was the one to break it.

"What are we Ash?"

"What do you mean Mist?"

"I mean…we're friends, obviously."

"We're friends again?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Yes," Misty responded laughingly, "we're friends _again_. But…are we…"

"Hey, look who's up!"

Ash and Misty both snapped around to find Drew standing in Daisy's bedroom doorway.

"_DREW!_" Ash fumed, "get OUT of here! How long have you been _standing _there?"

"I got here right around the part where you asked if you were Misty's baby," Drew snickered, "I didn't know you had such a hot Mom bro!"

Ash grabbed one of the satin emerald throw pillows to chuck at Drew's head, but as it turns out, that wouldn't be necessary.

"I _HEARD _that Drew!"

May appeared behind the green haired boy, arms folded and a scowl on her face.

"Oh, hey May!" Drew spun around and nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Get out of here Drew, go downstairs," May ordered.

"Uh, yes ma'am," Drew hurried past his displeased girlfriend and down the stairs.

Ash gave May a serious look before commenting, "He really _is _obnoxious May."

"Yeah, I know that," May rolled her eyes before laughing, "I don't know why I'm so crazy about him, honestly."

Misty rolled up her eyes to look at Ash. She had been asking herself the same exact question about that raven haired boy nearly a week ago.

"May," Ash growled a little, "you never exactly told me what that "brilliant" plan of yours was_._"

"Well, I _was_ going to tell you," May snorted, "but _you_ had to go and pass out on me."

"Well, sorry I twisted my ankle falling into Team Rocket's stupid trap!"

"Well, I'm sorry you're a little _girl _who can't handle a little pain!"

"Well, I'm sorry…"

"GUYS!" Misty finally snapped. May and Ash both looked at the red head, "you two are starting to sound like Ash and I when we were kids."

"When you were _kids?_" May huffed, "oh please. I've heard you two argue like that _all _the time."

"Whatever, who cares about how much Misty and I argue!" Ash whined, "I want to know about this plan of yours that almost made me keel over!"

"Alright, alright," May walked into the room, hands behind her head, "so, you see, because Misty had vowed never to speak to you again, I knew I'd have to do something a little extreme to get you two to make nice again. And I knew the one way I could get Misty to talk to you again was if you needed comfort."

Ash and Misty both raised their eyebrows at May.

"Guys, don't look at me that way!" May whined, "it was really a good plan, honest. Anyway, I knew I couldn't tell you a lie about your Mom or something. That would have been _way _too cruel. So then I came up with an even _better _idea! I thought, what if I could trick you into thinking Pikachu went missing? Then Misty would have had no choice but to comfort you, because you'd have been so distressed! So I had a little chat about it with Pikachu, and we both agreed it was a brilliant idea. I told Pikachu all he'd have to do was hide in my room at the Pokémon center until I got the two of you to be friends again."

"Well, it obviously backfired," Misty teased playfully. May nodded, almost mournfully.

"Continue," Ash tilted his head.

"Well, first of all, I had to get Pikachu out of your bed before you woke up," May pointed at Ash, "and oh man, are you an _awful _sleeper! I totally forgot how _bad _you were! Your arms and legs were everywhere, you snore like a congested Snorlax…how did you even sleep _near_ him last night Misty?"

"It didn't bother me," Misty shrugged, "and he wasn't as bad last night. Maybe it was because of his ankle."

"Guys, can we quit talking about my sleeping habits and keep talking about May's failed plan?" Ash groaned.

"Watch it mister," May scowled, "so, I got Pikachu out of your bed, and I brought him back to the Pokémon center. I didn't want the poor thing to be all alone, so I took Skitty out of her poke ball to keep Pikachu company. _That's_ where things kind of got messed up. Because, you see, I didn't realize that Drew was coming for a surprise visit, and Skitty somehow got out of the room, even though I told her to behave. So, once she got out of the room, she found Drew in the lobby. But Pikachu had apparently chased after Skitty, and when Drew saw that Pikachu and Skitty were there without me and you, well, he thought something terrible had happened to us. So then he headed over here to find me, because I had told him I'd be here for a few days."

"So he was worried about you?" Misty trilled, "that's _so _sweet!"

"I know right?" May clasped her hands together.

"GUYS!" Ash wailed.

"I'm almost done! So, you see, Drew wasn't part of the plan. Team Rocket most certainly wasn't part of the plan either. But, in a way, they kind of helped. Because you two ended up _kissing!_ That wasn't even part of _my _plan! I hate to say it, but you might have to make those three a big part of your wedding."

"Ugh, never," Misty rolled her eyes.

"Wait a minute," Ash blinked, "what wedding?"

"Aw, never mind," May winked, "but…I'm confused now."

"What are you confused about May?" Misty quipped.

"Well, this is kind of an awkward question, but…where exactly do you two stand?"

Ash furrowed his brow, and Misty laughed.

"That's the _exact _same thing I asked Ash before you came in!" Misty covered her mouth, "I guess everyone wants to know, huh?"

"Yeah, kind of," May smirked, "but seriously. What's going on?"

Ash and Misty looked at one another. Misty caught sight of a little glint in Ash's eye, and she gave him a knowing smirk. Ash lowered his head a little, and gave back a similar smirk.

"Well?" May asked anxiously.

Turning back to May, Misty responded simply, "we're just friends."

May's mouth hung open, "just…friends?"

"Yep," Ash put his hands behind his head.

"But…but…" May whimpered.

"No buts May," Ash shooed her away, "now go get me something to eat. I'm starving, and I can't be up on this ankle."

"Ugh, you little…" May's hands were balled into fists at her sides, but she turned on a hell and headed down the stairs.

Once they were positive May was all the way down, Ash and Misty burst out into a fit of laughter. Misty rolled over onto Ash and gave him a very passionate kiss, which Ash happily returned. As the two were busy with one another, Pikachu's ears twitched as he raised his head and opened his eyes. Seeing his trainer and his closest friend kissing like that gave the little mouse Pokémon quite a shock.

"Pikapi? Pikachupi?" Pikachu gasped.

Misty hastily pulled herself off of Ash, and the two looked at Pikachu, each one smiling gently.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu squeaked. _What's up?_

"I have a girlfriend," Ash giggled lovingly. Pikachu shot up, gaping at his dark haired trainer.

"I can't believe we lied to May," Misty buried her face into Ash's chest.

"I can," Ash scoffed, "they don't need to know _everything, _now do they? Besides, this is my revenge for her swiping Pikachu."

"We will have to tell her one day," Misty raised her head.

"Yeah, _one _day. As in, not _today._"

Misty laughed and kissed Ash's temple.

"Hey Mist?" Ash asked innocently.

"Yes Ash?" Misty replied with glittering emerald eyes.

"I was just wondering…obviously, I can't leave for my next journey as soon as I would've hoped, because of my stupid ankle. But…once I _do _leave, I was wondering if you wanted to come along with me?"

Misty's eyes were now wide, her face pale, "you…you mean it?"

"Yeah," Ash smiled, "I'm not really one for long distance relationships. So, what do you say? Want to be my travelling partner?"

Misty twisted her mouth and tapped her chin thoughtfully, "well…"

"Misty!" Ash whined, his heart taking a painful jerk.

"I'm kidding you knucklehead," Misty smacked Ash's shoulder, "of course I want to come with you."

"You mean it?" Ash grabbed Misty around the waist and pulled her closer to him again.

"Yes, I mean it," Misty giggled.

Ash hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head. And as he did this, Ash decided that if this was love…

He really, _really _liked it.


End file.
